Night can be the most challenging part of the monastic day. Monastic days are organized to give monks time for their priorities. Time for reflection and prayer, time for physical work and reading. Each day includes time for meals, personal hygiene, and rest. Monastic time is intended to reduce distractions and allow monks to pay […]
There is a woman, a friend of mine, who I see each Friday evening. My friend has been struggling with complicated physical ailments since before we met. She has fought pain and frustration, being misunderstood and ignored. Her courage and spirit kept her going long past the time most of us would have despaired. A few
Living Well and Dying Well Read More »
We all want to change the world, in one way or another. Some of us want to reform the economic system or the justice system. Some people are motivated to clean up the environment or help others. Some of us want to solve grand, worldwide problems. Others focus on their own families. We all see something
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Some of us like to believe we are open to new ideas, new experiences. There are people eager to try any new restaurant. Some of us try to visit new places each year. I even know people who seem to be driven to try every new craft beer brewed. We want to think of ourselves as
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Many of us view monks as role models of calm and mindful assurance. If we have met monks, we might marvel at their peaceful, unflappable openness. Most people who visit monasteries have an expectation of quiet, even silent, composure. We often assume monks have found answers which satisfy them on their quests. We perceive monks as holding
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I am hearing quite a bit about how this has been a hard year. It is only the end of October, and people are eager for this year to be over. This year has felt, at times, like we are headed down a long, dark tunnel. We have experienced a long, difficult campaign which began before the
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How do we begin each day to create healthy change and address the challenges of our lives? How do we even start to face the difficulties threatening to overwhelm us and our ability to respond? Christine Marie Mason begins by bringing people together to tell their stories. In her book, Indivisible, her first step is sharing
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There are people who believe our behavior is shaped primarily by our past. These people see us practicing the examples we have experienced. They understand our lives as responses which reflect the ways we have seen others respond. Other people advocate taking personal responsibility for our own actions. Whatever circumstances we have faced in the past, they
Practicing Our Future Read More »
Monastic space is not about distance or topography, neither personal space nor outer space. I will drive up to New Camaldoli, the monastery and hermitage to which I am connected, next week. It will take me a few hours to arrive there, though I am already starting to settle into monastic space. New Camaldoli is a
Life is indescribably complex. Still, many of us look to spiritual life for comfort and reassurance. In the face of all the complicated systems of our lives, we still expect spiritual life to be clear. Some of us want to know, understand, and comprehend. Some of us believe spiritual life is supposed to be straightforward
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